Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resorts, ...

. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,254. Owing to its three most important wine-producing regions (the Russian River, Dry Creek, and

Alexander Valley The Alexander Valley (Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. It is home to many wineries and vineyards, as well as the city of Cloverdale. ...

AVAs), Healdsburg has been continuously awarded one of the top 10 small towns in America and is home to three of the top wineries in the United States. Healdsburg is centered on a 19th-century plaza that provides an important focal point for tourists and locals.

History

Early inhabitants of the local area included the Pomo people, who constructed

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s in open areas along the Russian River. Anglo-American and Russian settlement may have commenced in the mid-19th century, with a settlement nearby, established downstream along the Russian River near Graton, in 1836, and later the Rancho Sotoyome land grant, in 1844. In 1857, Harmon Heald, an Ohio businessman who had been squatting on Rancho Sotoyome since 1850, purchased part of the rancho—giving the city its official founding date. In 1867, Heald's eponymous small town was incorporated. Healdsburg is located within the former

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Mendocino. The

San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad (SF&NP) provided the first extensive standard gauge rail service to Sonoma County and became the southern end of the regional Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Although first conceived of by Asbury Harpend ...

reached Healdsburg in 1872. The

Healdsburg Carnegie Library The Healdsburg Carnegie Library, which was also known as the Healdsburg Public Library and is now the Healdsburg Museum, is a Carnegie library built in 1911 in Healdsburg, California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 19 ...

, now the Healdsburg Museum, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, as is the

Healdsburg Memorial Bridge The Healdsburg Memorial Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Russian River in Healdsburg, California, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

. The City Council of Healdsburg has identified 13 important Historic Structures and Districts.

Farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, especially

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s and

truck farm A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...

s, was common within the present city limits from at least the 1890s to 1940s.

Geography

The city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 0.15% water. It lies on the Russian River, near a point used as a crossing of the river since the 1850s that is now the site of the

Healdsburg Memorial Bridge The Healdsburg Memorial Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Russian River in Healdsburg, California, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Foss Creek Foss Creek is a rain-fed watercourse in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is considered a tributary of the Russian River. Foss Creek traverses the city of Healdsburg, from north to south, originating near Passalacqua Road and flowing into Dry Cre ...

traverses the city from north to south, flowing into Dry Creek near the

U.S. 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

Central Healdsburg interchange.

Climate

Healdsburg has cool, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers. In January, the average high temperature is and the average low is . In July, the average high temperature is and the average low is . There are an average of 54.6 days with highs of or higher and an average of 20.1 days with lows of or lower. The record high temperature was on September 6, 2022, and the record low temperature was on December 22, 1990. Annual precipitation averages . There are an average of 73 days annually with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1976 with . The most precipitation in one month was in January 1995. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on December 3, 1980. Snow is relatively rare, with none in most years. The highest yearly snowfall totaled in 1976.

Environment

An intrinsic element of the city's natural environment is the riparian zone associated with the Russian River that flows through Healdsburg. The city owns two open space reserves stewarded by LandPaths. The Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve has of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

oak woodland An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s, while the Fitch Mountain Open Space Preserve has . City residents support recycling by use of the Healdsburg Transfer Station. The city has shown an interest in creating a quiet environment by creating a Noise Element of the General Plan, which defines baseline sound level

contours Contour may refer to: * Contour (linguistics), a phonetic sound * Pitch contour * Contour (camera system), a 3D digital camera system * Contour, the KDE Plasma 4 interface for tablet devices * Contour line, a curve along which the function has a ...

and sets forth standards of quiet for each land use category.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Healdsburg had a population of 11,254. The population density was . The racial makeup of Healdsburg was 8,334 (74.1%) White, 56 (0.5%) African American, 205 (1.8%) Native American, 125 (1.1%) Asian, 18 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 2,133 (19.0%) from other races, and 383 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,820 persons (33.9%). The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households and 0.5% were institutionalized. There were 4,378 households, 1,335 (30.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,140 (48.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 465 (10.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 222 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 259 (5.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 54 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 1,205 (27.5%) were one person and 542 (12.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56. There were 2,827 families (64.6% of households); the average family size was 3.12. The age distribution was 2,546 people (22.6%) under the age of 18, 925 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,750 people (24.4%) aged 25 to 44, 3,349 people (29.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,684 people (15.0%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. There were 4,794 housing units at an average density of , of which 57.6% were owner-occupied and 42.4% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. Of the population, 53.2% lived in owner-occupied housing units and 46.3% lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the 2000 census, there were 10,722 people in 3,968 households, including 2,702 families, in the city. The population density was 2,848/sq mi (1,101/km). There were 4,138 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 79.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.8% Native American, 0.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 13.4% from other races, and 3.5% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

. Of the population, 28.8% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and ''Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States C ...

of any race. There were 3,968 households, 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 25.9% of households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.23. The age distribution was 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The median household income was $48,995 and the median family income was $55,386. Males had a median income of $38,977 versus $32,015 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,245. 9.4% of the population and 6.6% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

. Out of the total population, 10.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.7% of those 65 and older were living below the

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

line.

Government

State and federal

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Healdsburg is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Healdsburg is in . According to the

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

, as of February 10, 2019, Healdsburg has 6,913 registered voters. Of those, 3,624 (52.4%) are registered Democrats, 1,262 (18.3%) are registered

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and 1,680 (24.3%) have declined to state a political party.

Transportation

Amtrak Thruway and Sonoma County Transit buses serve the Depot. Healdsburg is a proposed future stop on the

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Cloverdale in north ...

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line.

Notable people

Mary Ellen Bamford Mary Ellen Bamford (December 10, 1857 – May 21, 1946) was an American writer from Healdsburg, California. Early years and education Mary Ellen Bamford was born in Healdsburg, California, the daughter of Dr. William Bamford and Cornelia Elizabeth ...

: author *

Kristen Barnhisel Kristen Barnhisel is an American winemaker. She is Quality Control manager at Inglenook. She specializes in making pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Personal life and education Kristen Barnhisel was raised in Santa Rosa, California in th ...

, winemaker * Helen Beardsley: author *

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

: actor *

Jim Cullom James Henry "Truck" Cullom (November 5, 1925 – March 4, 1998) was an American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Yanks. Cullom served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, ...

: professional football player *

L Peter Deutsch L Peter Deutsch (born Laurence Peter Deutsch on August 7, 1946, in Boston, Massachusetts) is the founder of Aladdin Enterprises and creator of Ghostscript, a free software PostScript and Portable Document Format, PDF interpreter. Deutsch's othe ...

: creator of Ghostscript *

Paul Erdman Paul Emil Erdman was a Canadian-born American economist and banker who became known for writing novels based on monetary trends and international finance. Early life Erdman was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, on 19 May 1932 to American parents ...

: business and financial writer * Henry D. Fitch: early resident * Jess Jackson: wine entrepreneur *

Roderick N. Matheson Roderick Nicol Matheson (May 28, 1824 – September 14, 1862) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Matheson was born in Inverness, Scotland, and emigrated to New York City with his parents at the age of 15. During th ...

: early resident * Patti McCarty: actress * Mike McGuire: politician *

Heidi Newfield Heidi Kay Newfield (born October 4, 1970) is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit ...

: country singer, formerly of

Trick Pony Trick Pony was an American country music group, formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Keith Burns (lead guitar, vocals), and Ira Dean (bass guitar, vocals). They recorded three studio albums: ''Trick Pony'', '' ...

* Thomas C. Reed: former Secretary of the Air Force *

Ariana Richards Ariana Clarice Richards is an American painter and former actress. She is best known for her role as Lex Murphy in the blockbuster film ''Jurassic Park''. Richards won several Young Artist Awards for her acting as a child, but as an adult has f ...

: actress and painter * Effie Robinson: social worker and public housing director *

Ralph Rose Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California. Biography Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the first shot putter ...

: track and field athlete, Olympic gold medalist in 1904-08-12 *

Jack Sonni Jack Sonni (born December 9, 1954) is a writer, musician and former marketing executive best known as "the other guitarist" in Dire Straits during the band's '' Brothers in Arms'' era. Early life and education Drawn to music at an early age, S ...

: former guitarist of

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

John Udell John Udell (22 June 1795 – 30 June 1874) was an American farmer and Baptist lay preacher who is primarily known for two detailed diaries he kept of his travels to California across the Great Plains of the United States. He traversed the overl ...

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

of the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...

* John Carl Warnecke: architect *

Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman, CBE (née Hotchkiss; December 20, 1886 – December 5, 1974) was an American tennis player and founder of the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women. She dominated American wome ...

: tennis player, Wimbledon and Olympic champion * Jim Wood: politician

References

External links

*
Healdsburg Visitor's Bureau
* {{authority control 1867 establishments in California California wine Cities in Sonoma County, California Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1857 Populated places established in 1867